Promise to keep in Point Reyes National Seashore's new park plan

A PROMISE MADE by the Interior Department to preserve and protect the ranches that have long been part of the Point Reyes National Seashore is going to be transformed from a political pledge into the rules and regulations of the national park.

In 2012, while announcing his controversial decision to let the Drakes Bay Oyster Co.'s long-term lease expire, then-Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar also pledged continuation of the ranches whose family owners have worried, not unjustifiably, that their days would be numbered as well.

Salazar, however, said otherwise.

"From the Flint Hills of Kansas to the Crown of the Continent in Montana to the Everglades Headwaters in Florida, we have worked to implement a new era of conservation that protects America's rich ranching and farming heritage," he said in his press statement. "Ranching operations have a long and important history on the Point Reyes peninsula and will be continued at Point Reyes National Seashore. I have directed that the superintendent work with the operators of these ranches to ensure that sustainable agriculture production continues and plays an important role in the local economy."

That's a strong pledge. But Salazar has retired and the process to put that pledge into action has been slow to materialize.

On May 6 and 7, two Marin hearings will be held to start work on a new plan for managing the estimated 28,000 acres of beef and cattle ranches across the national seashore.

Salazar's pledge reinforced a promise made to ranchers when the spectacular park was created more than 50 years ago. Despite that promise, ranchers have only been able to secure short leases and their relationship with the park service has, at times, been strained.

This week's meetings — 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Dance Palace Community Center in Point Reyes Station and 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Bay Model Visitor Center in Sausalito — are the first step to fulfill Salazar's promise. At these forums, the public has been invited to raise issues they want addressed in the new management plan.

For instance, ranchers want the plan to come up with policies that protect their herds from encroachment by tule elk, whose population has grown in numbers and presence across the park in recent years.

There also is a plan to extend ranches' leases to 20-year periods. But ranchers will also focus on management rules and requirements, those that might help them continue their livelihoods and those that could hamper their operations.

As Salazar said in 2012, these ranches are an important part of Marin's economy. The agricultural industry relies on having enough active ranches to continue local support and viability.

Rep. Jared Huffman says the writing of a new ranch plan is "a critical moment for reaffirming and strengthening the relationship between the park service and its agriculture partners."

The rules and requirements put into place by the drafting and adoption of this document should be in keeping with Salazar's promise.